The Best Days
by the musical bender
Summary: Aang and Katara's daughter finds an old box marked memories. What memories will it bring back to her parents?
1. The Headband

**AN: This is my first fanfiction and I'm really happy about it. So I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender. I only own Chyo and a very needy cat.**

It was a peaceful day in the upper ring of the Earth Kingdom Capital of Ba Sing Se. The upper ring, home of the city's most important officials, contained a house that wasn't the most luxurious, but wasn't the smallest either. It was just right size for a budding family. The house was quiet except for a small giggle which emitted from a closet. Inside it was a small girl, around the age of six, with gorgeous blue eyes and silky black hair. The little girl didn't mean to giggle, but she was so surprised that her father hadn't found her that it was funny.

A man entered the room and the child feel immediately silent. He was a tall, athletic man. He had large gray eyes, ears that were slightly too big, and a bright blue arrow that ran down the center of his bald head. "Chyo come out, come out, wherever you are," he playfully called.

"No way daddy," she whispered to herself.

The man heard this but decided to play along. "Hmmm, could she be under the bed?" He crouched down and looked. "Nope, maybe behind the curtains," he said blowing them apart with a strong gust of wind. "Or maybe, she could be in the closet."

He rushed over to the closet and yanked open the door. He was greeted with a, "ROAAR!" and the little girl pouncing out of the wooden closet, "I'm a tigerdillo!" she yelled tackling her father.

"You got me," the man chuckled.

"Daddy, you're supposed to act like you're hurt."

"Aaah, you're so strong," he pretended to writhe in pain. "So you were hiding in the closet the whole time?" he said sitting up.

"I was on the shelf!"

"But how did you get up there?"

"I airbended daddy!"

"Oh, you're so good at that. But you're mom won't like the mess," gesturing to the boxes scattered about on the floor that came down with the girl.

As if on cue, "Aang, where are you honey?" she called out.

"I'm in the bedroom, dear."

A beautiful woman with sparkling blue eyes that resembled her daughter's entered the room. She had long, brown, flowing hair with her usual 'hair loopies'. One look at the mess and she said, "I can never leave you two alone can I?"

"Katara, we were playing hide and seek and Chyo was hiding and I…"

"I don't even want to hear about it this time. I just wanted to tell Chyo her lunch is almost ready."

"Yay!" the young girl said starting to walk out of the room.

"Not so fast missy, you know the rules. If you make a mess…"

"You clean it up, fine," she automatically replied. Her parents started helping her but noticed she was going at an extremely slow pace when they were around.

"C'mon Aang, let's leave her to finish it."

They walked out of the room, but Aang could still be heard down the hall. "Really Katar, it isn't my fault."

"Stupid closet, stupid boxes," Chyo mumbled.

She was almost done, when she spotted a particularly old box. "What's this?" she thought to herself. "Memories," she muttered tracing her finger over the ink lettering. "Mommy, daddy," she called throughout the house.

"What is it Chyo Myo?" Katara asked coming out of the kitchen.

"Mommy, what's this?" she said showing the box.

"Oh my, I haven't seen this for ages. These are things you're daddy and I saved before you were born. Do you want to see what's inside?"

Chyo nodded. "C'mon, I'll show you this during lunch. You're favorite soup is ready."

They walked into the kitchen, "Aang, look what Chyo found."

"I had forgotten all about this. Here, put it on the table," Aang said.

The small family gathered around the table and the Avatar removed the top and peeked inside the box. "No way," he muttered to himself. "My old headband."

"I thought you threw that away ages ago," Katara said.

"I thought you did," he replied.

"So that explains how it got there. But what did you use it for?" the little girl piped up.

"Well Chyo, believe it or not for a little while I had hair!"

Chyo's eyes got as wide as saucers while she stared at her father in disbelief. "Yeah, it was short and black and was always very knotted," Katara added.

"Oh, I know that you loved it."

"I never said I didn't."

"But why did you grow it out? I thought you said it was tradition for monks to be bald," said Chyo.

"You're right, but during the war things were different. Your mom and I had to sneak into the Fire Nation, so I grew out my hair and used this headband to cover my arrows. That way no one knew who I was, and I could do super secret save the world stuff."

"Woooah, what's next?"


	2. the flower

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender. **

"I think it's my turn to pick," Katara said.

She reached into the box until her fingers fluttered over a familiar object. She pulled it out and said, "Oh Aang, you're such a sap. I can't believe you saved this."

"What can I say; I'm the romantic kind of guy."  
She was holding a small black and white pressed flower. "What kind of flower is that?" Chyo asked.

"That's a Panda Lily. It's one of the most romantic flowers in the world. I remember when you're father gave this to me but what came next was even better," The waterbender explained.

_Flashback_

_The snow was gently falling around the South Pole. The small village that was once there was no longer that; it was just and maybe even more beautiful than before the Hundred Year War. Inside a smaller igloo, lived the 18 year old Katara. She shared her house with her father, brother and sister in-law, and her 16 year old boyfriend when he came to visit. Aang was currently on a trip to the Fire Nation and wasn't supposed to be home for another three days. What she didn't know as that he had come home early and was currently sneaking up on her. He was only inches away from her when he whispered into her ear, "What kind of soup is that?"_

_ She jumped up in the air and bended the stew she had been working on behind her and froze it to the wall. She turned around to face her frozen opponent to discover it was her boyfriend. He was already melting the iced stew off him. "Sea pruney, yum," he said sarcastically._

_ "Aang, what, how, you're," she stuttered._

_ "I worked hard and was able to get Zuko to cut me so slack and come back early. It wasn't easy, but I think it helped I mastered lightening," he added slyly._

_ "You did, congratu-"_

_ "Shussh," Aang interrupted putting a finger up to her lips._

_ "Don't shush me," she replied angrily._

_ "Ssh, I have a surprise."_

_ Katara huffed but waited patiently. Aang fished around in his satchel till he found what he was looking for. "Okay, close your eyes." Katara obeyed and the Avatar took the item out. "Now open them."_

_ When she opened her eyes, the waterbender saw an adorable sight. There was her boyfriend with wide, innocent eyes. He had his signature childish grin on and was holding a single black and white flower. "This is for you," he said mustering all the cuteness he could get. _

_ "Oh Aang, it's beautiful," she said in awe taking the flower._

_ "It's a Panda Lily. A wise old lady told me that people give it to the ones they really love."_

_ She pulled him into a hug and said, "I love it and I love you."_

_ "I love you and your hugs. I missed you so much," he replied._

_ "Yeah, I wish you didn't have to go away so often."_

_ "Maybe it won't have to be so often soon," the airbender mumbled._

_ "What was that?" she inquired._

_ "Nothing, it's just that there's another surprise."_

_ "What is it?"_

_ "If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise," he stated as if it was the most obvious thing. She rolled her eyes at his cockiness. "C'mon, we have to go," he said literally sweeping Katara off her feet. _

"_Aaaaaaaaang! Where are we going?" Katara asked over the wind he was generating running through the village carrying her bridal style._

_ He only replied with, "Places."_

_ When they passed Sokka, Aang yelled, "Hey Sokka!"_

_ Sokka shouted, "Aang, you're back! Where are you taking my sister?" He got no reply. "Aang. AANG! I HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW!" he yelled after the now fading teenagers._

_ His wife, Suki, came up to him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. " Let them go, they're in love."_

_ "But I'm her big brother. Even though he's the Avatar, it doesn't mean he can just whisk her away without even telling me," he complained._

_ "Oh lighten up, don't you remember when we were dating."_

_ The water tribe warrior's eyes widen. "Then, I really have the right to know," he exclaimed trying to run after the long gone couple. His wife was already pulling him back to the tent._

_ Aang had finally stopped running and put Katara down. They were on the outskirts of the city. They approached a large flying, fluffy bison, "Hey buddy!" the airbender called in delight._

_ "Appa, that's my big surprise?" she questioned. Appa roared in disagreement. "Not that's there anything wrong with that."_

_ "No, we have to ride him to get there," explained Aang._

_ They both boarded the sky bison. "Also, you have to put this over you eyes," he said pulling out a thin piece of cloth._

_ "Why?" Katara asked skeptically. _

_ "Because, it's a really big surprise."_

_ "Fine," she agreed reluctantly. _

_ They flew for several hours until they finally landed at their destination. It was a half broken iceberg. It hadn't changed in it's three years of existence. "Now watch your step down," Aang said guiding his girlfriend down Appa's back. _

_ "How can I? You blindfolded me!" she exclaimed obviously annoyed._

_ "Just wait a minute," he replied jumping on to the top of the ice sculpture._

_ "Seriously Aang, what can be this big that we have to fly three hours to get to," she called._

_ "Here me out," he shouted back._

_ "Fine."_

_ "So Katara, you're the most beautiful, kindest person in the whole world. You're the reason that I'm here. I couldn't have won this war without you. You deserve the everything in the world."_

_ "Oh Aang, I would return the compliment if I could SEE."_

_ "Sorry, forgot you still had that on. You can take it off now," he said absentmindedly. _

_ The waterbender took off the piece of fabric to find her boyfriend teetering on the edge of the iceberg. "Anyway, I just wanted to say-" but he didn't finish because he lost his footing and slipped. "Aang," she cried rushing forward to catch him, nevertheless he hit his head on the way down. _

_ She propped him up against the edge of the ice. "Aang, Aang wake up," she said gently shaking him._

_ He groaned and slowly opened his eye but still looked very weak. "Aang, are you alright?" she questioned him._

_ "I need to ask you something," he quietly said._

_ "What?"_

_ "Come closer," pulling her closer to him._

_ His eyes immediately shot open and he whipped out a necklace "Will you marry me?" he asked smiling. _

_ She was stunned for a minute, but when things processed. "Yes, yes of course I will," she stammered accepting the necklace. It was a ying and yang symbol, but air and water symbols were carved on each half._

_ When he heard what she said, he jumped up and yelled, "Yes! I should've done this three years ago!"_

_ The newly engaged couple enfolded into a passionate kiss. _

"That's so romantic," Chyo dreamily said.

"It was, until you Uncle Sokka found out," said Aang.

"Didn't he chase you all around the village," Katara added laughing.

"That was until Suki pinned him down," Aang said chuckling.

When both the adults regained the composure, Chyo observed, "Aunt Suki's a lot stronger than Uncle Sokka, isn't she."

This caused her mother to erupt into another fit of giggles. "Probably, and you should tell him that when we visit next month," Aang told his daughter.

"We're going to visit the South Pole! And see Uncle Sokka and Aunt Suki and cousins Huan and Jia," the little girl excitedly cried.

"Yes. We haven't seen them for a while so we're going down there for a month," Katara explained.

"Flame-O!" Chyo exclaimed.

"You taught her that didn't you," Katara accused Aang.

Aang merely shrugged. "Ok Chyo, you're turn," her father said pushing the box towards her.

"Hmmm, what to pick?" she peered inside.

**A/N: Thanks for reading. Please review it makes me feel loved. Also this is going to be a five to six chapter fic and I will try my best to finish it.**


	3. The Scroll

**Hey guys, here's the next chapter of the story. Sorry that I didn't update sooner but I had school and stuff. But today was a snow day, so this is my little gift to you.** **I hope you enjoy it and review. Reviews are like chocolate to me and I like chocolate very much. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender no matter how much I wish it.**

**The Best Days**

"I pick this," Chyo said taking out a scroll with a Water Tribe seal on it. "What was this for?"

"Hahaha," laughed Aang. "That is the first and I think only thing that your mom stole."

"I didn't steal it," Katara defended. "I just high-risk bargained it."

"That's basically the same thing," he replied matter-o-factly.

"Mommy stole! But Auntie Toph said that mommy was a goody two shoes," the little airbender said.

Aang started laughing again, while Katara just stared with an open mouth. "I'm going to...," Katara growled.

"Honey, remember this is Toph we're talking about. It's just who she is," he said soothingly.

"I know, but she shouldn't be telling lies to our daughter," the waterbender pouted.

"Well, it's not a complete lie," he started but his wife cut him off throwing a water whip at his forehead.

"What was that for! All I said is that you do have the tendency to be a-" Katara threw another whip at him. "Ok, I'll shut up now," he replied in defeat.

"Anyway, why did you steal- I mean high-risk bargain it?" Chyo asked.

"I only took it for the greater good," Katara defended. "You see your dad and I didn't know much about waterbending, so we were trying to teach ourselves. The only way we could learn was through this scroll. So if we hadn't gotten this scroll, we might've not saved the world."

"This scroll must've played a really important part in the war. This should be in a museum!" the little girl exclaimed.

"I think your mother might be exaggerating a bit. She most likely took the scroll because she wanted to learn waterbending faster."

"Well, it still helped us on our journey," she retorted.

"Was it worth getting captured by pirates?" her husband asked smirking.

"Don't you bring that up again," the waterbender warned.

"But, it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't stolen it."

"You know what, you sound like Sokka."

"Oh I sound like Sokka. You-"

"WAIT," Chyo yelled interrupting her squabbling parents, "You got captured by pirates?" she asked giddy with excitement.

"Yeah, you see the scroll your mom high-risk bargained was from pirates," Aang explained.

""But when your father and I got back to camp, he of course had to start showing off with it," Katara said obviously tying to blame her husband.

"So your mom got jealous of my natural talent."

"Your natural talent," Katara snorted.

"Yes my natural talent. So after that your mom snuck out to try to get some extra practice and she got captured by the pirates and also by your Uncle Zuko," Aang said.

"This is when Uncle Zuko was going through his angry phase and was trying to capture you?" Chyo asked.

"Yeah, I guess that's one way to put it," replied her father.

"Then, why did he capture mom? Did he like her?" the young airbender asked.

"What, no," Katara said embarrassed "No, your Uncle Zuko loved your Aunt Mai. The only reason he captured me was so he could get information about where your dad was."

"But your mother, being incredibly strong and brave, would not tell him anything," said Aang kissing his wife on the cheek.

"Aww, Aang," she said blushing.

"Well, it's true. But you see Chyo, even though your mom had so much courage your Uncle Sokka and me still got captured by the pirates."

"What happened next?" inquired Chyo absolutely mesmerized.

"Ok, so just as we were about to be handed over to the Fire Nation and we thought it was the end," Aang dramatically started. "Uncle Sokka came up with a brilliant plan that turned the pirates against the Fire Nation soldiers."

"So during the scuffle, we managed to get the pirates boat into a nearby river and sail off into it," Katara continued.

"And then you guys sailed off and lived happily ever after," Chyo blurted out getting way too much into the story.

"Umm, not exactly," Aang answered. "You see things never exactly worked out well for our group."

"It turns out, the river turned into a waterfall,"her mother said.

"But just as we went over," Aang paused. "Good ol' Appa came and caught us and we flew away."

"Wow," Chyo said.

"Yeah now that I think about it, Appa came to our rescue many times," Katara added.

"It seems like you guys can get out of any situation," their daughter observed.

"Well, not every one, but you know your dad's a smart guy."

" That's sweet but we would've never gotten anywhere without you," Aang complimented Katara. "You kept us on task and made sure we got where we needed to go."

"For some reason Aang you always wanted to go to these bizarre places," Katara thought out loud.

Aang shrugged, "I just wanted to have fun."

"I don't think being chased by hopping llamas is classified as fun," Katara said.

"I said I was sorry. I really thought the monks said that they were peaceful creatures. How was I suppose to know that they were so violent?" Aang asked.

"Yeah who would've known that a wild animal would get angry it you tried to ride it," the waterbender replied sarcastically.

Chyo started to giggle at this remark. "Oh, you think that's funny little girl? I'll show you something really funny." said her father who proceeded to tickle her.

In result she began to laugh even harder while she breathlessly exclaimed, "No! Stop! Daddy!"

"Oh what did you say? Go for your feet? Ok!"

"No, anything but the feet!" Chyo yelled.

"Sorry I can't hear you," Aang said laughing along with his daughter. "Who's the best daddy in the whole world?" he asked playfully.

"You are!"

"Ok, ok, I'll let you up now."

The Avatar helped Chyo up. "That was fun," she said.

"That's nice, Do you want to see what else is in the box?" Aang questioned.

"Sure!"

The pair walked back over to the table where Katara was sitting watching the two with a smile.

**I hope you liked it. I will try to have the next one up as soon as possible but school might get busy again. Please review and thank you to all that did review it made my day. **


	4. The Picture

**I just wanted to start out thanking all of my wonderful reviewers so far: Ms. Diamondpearly, Nefertari Queen, Avatar Obsession, Aniilitha, K. M. Arrow, and Werefaerie120. You guys make me so happy, and this chapter is dedicated to you. **

**Disclaimer: I, in no way, shape, or form own Avatar: The Last Airbender **

* * *

"Your turn daddy," Chyo announced.

"Why don't you take it sweetheart?" her dad suggested.

Chyo nodded in agreement and turned her attention back to the box. Katara got up and walked over to her husband. "You sure you have time for this? I know this is very sweet of you and everything but don't you have a meeting this afternoon?"

"I always have time for my two favorite girls. The meeting's not till later. Besides, they can't have a peace meeting with the Avatar without well... the Avatar," he replied.

"I know that and I love it when you're here. But I thought you said-"

"Katara," Aang started, looking her in the eyes. "Don't worry. I won't miss my meeting."

"Ok, I just care about you."

"I know you do and I do too."

"Mommy," Chyo interrupted, calling her mom over. "I've been trying to figure this out, but I can't. What is this a picture of?"

The picture was on a very old, very yellow scroll. It had many odd looking figures. They were doing very different things so it was hard to tell what was happening in it. And quite frankly, it looked like a five year old had drawn it. "Oh, this is the result of you Uncle Sokka's 'artistic' skills," Katara said, looking over the picture.

"But what's it of?" Chyo asked, still confused.

"Don't you see the striking resemblance?" Aang asked, coming up behind her daughter. "That's me," he said, pointing to a little boy riding a bison.

"But, you're so squishable," she stated, trying to make sense of the picture. "And Appa looks angry."

The older airbender laughed, "You're right. Sokka was never the... gifted artist."

"I guess that it's nice he tries. But with a picture this bad, I'm not so sure," Katara added.

"When did he draw this?" Chyo questioned her parents.

"This was about two weeks after the war," Aang explained. "We were hanging out at Great Uncle Iroh's tea shop and Sokka felt inspired as he said to capture the moment."

"But you're nowhere near a tea shop in the picture, there's mountains in the background," Chyo pointed out.

"I guess you're right. I don't know what was going through his head at the time. Actually I don't know what goes through his head half the time,"said Aang

Katara giggled, "You do remember what happened after this big fiasco, don't you?"

"How could I forget?" he replied. "You see, I had just gone outside to get some air,"Aang explained. "Your mom then came up behind me and planted a big one on my lips because she was so madly in love."

"That isn't what happened," Katara said outraged.

"Oh, then what happened?" her husband teased. "Because that's not how I remembered it."

"Well you remembered wrong. First of all, Chyo, I didn't just come out of thin air and kiss your dad. He had already kissed me before many times, so I was pretty sure he liked me. I just wanted to tell him that I liked him back,"Chyo's mother said.

"I get it," her daughter responded.

"Also, I'm pretty sure that your father liked it, because he kissed me back," Katara continued.

"I have to agree with that. Your mom gives great kisses," Aang said.

"Oh like this," Katara said, who proceeded to kiss her husband.

They continued to kiss for the next two minutes. Chyo was silently staring at her parents, though she was having a lively argument in her hear. _"They've been kissing for a long time now. When are they going to stop? This is getting gross. Uncle Sokka told me to say this when they were kissing for this long. But it seemed sort of rude. Maybe I'll just try it out."_

Chyo said it softly, but it appeared that her parents didn't hear it. _"Oh yeah, Uncle Sokka me to yell it."_

"Get A Room!"

Her parents immediately separated and looked at their little girl in shock. Chyo felt bad and started to apologize, "I'm sorry, but Uncle Sokka told me to say it if you were kissing for a while. Is it a bad thing to say?"

Katara softened up and told Chyo, "No sweetie, it's not bad but it's a little rude. We were just a little surprised. We aren't mad at you."

"Ok," sniffled Chyo.

"Here why don't we look at the picture again."

Chyo nodded and started to study the scroll. Katara whispered to Aang, "I'm going to have a little talk with my brother about what he teaches his niece."

"Fine by me,"Aang whispered back.

When they took their seats again, Aang announced, "Ok Chyo, let's play a game. Since this a picture of us and your Aunts and Uncles when we were kids, why don't you guess who's who?"

"Ok!" the little girl agreed, always eager to play a game. "I know that's you daddy," she said pointing to the squishy boy. "Hmmm... is that Great Uncle Iroh?" she said pointing to a particularly large and jolly man. "You're right," said Katara.

Chyo's mouth hung open and she exclaimed, "But he's bigger than Appa. I've never know someone that fat."

"Keep in mind that Sokka wasn't a very good painter and he tended to exaggerate," Aang explained.

"Oohhh," Chyo continued to scan the painting. Her eyes landed upon a very angry figure. He was very tense with hunched shoulders and hair taller than his head. "Is that..is that Uncle Zuko?" she asked unsure of herself.

"It's hard to believe, but yup," Katara said.

"And the person next to him is Aunt Mai," Aang added.

"Why is Uncle Zuko wearing a porcupine on his head? And why does Aunt Mai look mannish?" Chyo asked confused.

"Wait what," Aang did a double take on Zuko's head. "Oh that's just his hair."

"But it's so spiky," Chyo argued.

"Yeah, I'm not sure why he did that."

"Also, I'm not sure why Mai looks how she does," Katara added.

"Isn't it hard to mess up the difference between a girl and a boy?" Chyo asked.

"Not for my brother. I mean look at Toph."

Toph did look quite manlike too. "I think that it looks like the wanted poster of her," Aang said.

"Aunt Toph had a wanted poster, but why?" Chyo questioned.

"At one point when we were traveling the world, your Aunt started gambling and cheating people out of their money. So when they were trying to catch her, she had a wanted poster," her mother explained.

"I do believe that you are leaving something out dear," said Aang.

"Oh what is that?" she asked, glaring at her husband.

"Well, before Toph ended her gambling career, I remember you pulled off a scheme that landed you in jail."

"It was my first time! All the other times Toph, and you and Sokka gambled we were fine," Katara defended.

At this point, Chyo was laughing insanely. "Ok, ok, hahaha, real funny," Katara sarcastically said.

"You know what's even funnier. You mom in the picture," Aang said pointing Katara out to their daughter. This caused Chyo to fall apart, "You have Momo ears," she exclaimed.

"You're right I do!"

The whole family was now laughing. After many minutes, the family finally regained their sanity. "There are only two people left in the picture, so why don't you guess them," suggested the older airbender.

This was harder for Chyo. She could tell it was a man and woman. The man had a giant smile on and was holding something that resembled a sword. The woman though was holding a fan in one hand while firebending out the other. "I think the one with the sword is Uncle Sokka," she declared. Her parents nodded, "But I have no idea who the girl is," she cried, throwing her hands in the air.

"You really want to know?" Aang asked, raising an eyebrow.

"YES!"

"That's your Aunt Suki," her father stated plainly.

"But the girl is firebending. Is Aunt Suki secretly a firebender?" she asked, getting excited.

"No, no, no, no, this is what happens when you give Sokka a paintbrush," Katara said.

"I think he claimed that it would make the picture more exciting," said Aang.

"I guess it does do that," Chyo said, tilting her head, trying to get another angle of the picture.

"I think we all learned not to let Sokka capture the moment," said Katara.

"What's next?" Chyo asked, wanting to get onto the next thing.

"I'm not sure. I think there's only a few things left," said her father, looking over the box. When he glanced up, he barely saw a black speck flying towards him. Aang figured out it was a messenger bird. "I wonder what this is about," he muttered.

* * *

**Thanks for reading and I hope you really enjoyed. I'll have one more chapter after this. Please check my profile for a poll to determine my next story. Also please review. It puts sunlight in my days. Also if any of you guess what the message to Aang says you get the next chapter dedicated to you. **


	5. The Necklace

**First off I just wanted to say that I am so sorry I haven't updated sooner, but I have been really busy with school and this chapter turned out a lot longer than I thought. I also write really slow. This chapter is dedicated to Nefertari Queen, who came pretty close with predicting the ending and also is my most loyal reviewer. Now, here is the last, and final chapter of The Best Days.**

* * *

The hawk flew gracefully into the house and landed painlessly on the Avatar's outstretched arm. He removed the message from the bird's back and it soared off into the distant. He unraveled the scroll and scanned the paper and his face fell. The message read:

_Twinkeltoes,_

_Get your butt over to the Earth King's Palace! You're already an hour late and that's an hour too long in this stuffy place. You're making me late for getting out of here. Now get your Airhead over here, or I will make you drill earthbending all day tomorrow!_

_The Greatest Earthbender (Toph)_

Aang grimaced at al the threats in the letter. He most certainly did not want to have a day filled with just earthbending. He shuddered remembering how the last one had gone and how those bruises hadn't gone away for two weeks.

When Aang looked up, he saw Katara staring at him. "What is it? Is anything wrong?" she asked anxiously.

"No, nothing's wrong. At least nothing bad," Aang quickly reassured his wife.

"Then, what is it?"

"Well, you know that meeting you mentioned.." he trailed off.

"You didn't."

"Let's just say that Toph sent me a colorful note telling me that I'm an hour late."

"What did Auntie Toph say?" Chyo asked, not catching her parent's conversation.

Aang knelt down to his daughter's level. "Your Aunt just sent me a letter reminding your daddy that he's late for his meeting."

"Oh," Chyo said sadly, "So you have to go?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Why do you always have to go?" she asked, hugging her dad.

"Well, honey, it's because I'm the Avatar," Aang replied thoughtfully.

"Why can't you just be my daddy?"

"I wish I could. I would trade anything to be that. But, I have to do this. It's part of who I am," her father explained.

"I know. It just feels like I never see you."

"We spent some time together this afternoon, didn't we?" Aang asked. Chyo nodded in reply. "Well, we'll spend some more later. You do have your mommy, don't you?"

"Yeah, I love playing with her," she exclaimed.

Katara smiled, "And I bet your daddy can tell you another story when he gets home."

"Of course," Aang added. "I'll tell you about the time when your Uncle Sokka and Aunt Suki met. I promise."

Chyo's mood visibly lifted, "Ok!" giving a thumbs up sign.

"I have to go now," said Aang.

He hugged his daughter one last time and gave his wife a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you tonight," he yelled, running out the door.

Katara called after him, "Go make some peace!"

Katara lingered in the doorway before turning back to her daughter. "What do you want to do now, mommy?"

"Well first, we have to clean up lunch," her mother stated.

"So, no more memories?" Chyo asked disappointed.

"Not right now, sweetheart. We should wait until you father gets back."

"But there's only one thing left," she protested, peering into the box. "And it's blue, so it must be Water Tribe. So, you must know about it."

"I still think we should wait for you father," Katara reasoned.

"Pretty, pretty, please," Chyo begged with puppy dog eyes.

Katara hesitated, but even she couldn't resist those eyes at times. "Oh alright," she reluctantly agreed. "What is it?"

Katara took a seat next to her daughter at the kitchen table. Chyo reached inside and pulled the contents out. Katara immediately recognized it and held her hand out for the simple blue necklace. Chyo dropped the necklace into her mother's cupped hands. Katara cradled the familiar blue pendant necklace. The silk was just as soft as she remembered it. The sapphire blue stone shone the water tribe symbol just as clear. "Mommy, what is it?" Chyo's voice broke Katara out of her daze.

"What is it," the airbender repeated.

"Oh this," Katara asked, pointing to the necklace.

"Yeah," Chyo said, amazed her mom had not gotten it by now.

"This was just a necklace I wore during the war," Katara said offhanded, starting to put the necklace away.

That's it," Chyo exclaimed incredulously. "No story, no nothing. There must be some reason why you saved it."

"Well," Katara hesitantly started. "It was your grandmother's before it was mine"

"My grandmother? I didn't know I had one!"

"Well of course," her mother laughed. "Everyone has one. When you get older and have children, I'll be their grandmother."

"Then, where is my grandmother? Why isn't she living with Grandpa? Did they get in a fight?" Chyo curiously asked.

"Chyo, I don't know if this is the best time-"

"Pleeease," her daughter interrupted.

Katara didn't know how to tackle the impending issue. But, she knew that there was no way around her daughter's constant stream of questions. So she just took a deep breath and began. "Chyo, what do you know about the Hundred Year War?"

"I know that the Fire Nation did bad things to the other nations. But daddy stopped them and saved the world, and everything was ok," Chyo said, proud of remembering that.

"You're right, but the war was a lot more complicated than that. See what the Fire Nation did hurt many people, and some people died because of it. You know what death, is right?"

"Yeah, daddy said it was when people went to the Spirit World when they get really old," her daughter answered. "But what does this have to do with my grandmother?"

"It will all make sense soon, just listen. When I was younger, the Fire Nation used to attack my village in the South Pole. The last raid happened when I was just a little bit older than you. Your Uncle Sokka and I were playing outside, like usual, when we noticed the black snow."

"Black snow? What's that?" interjected Chyo.

"It's when snow mixes with the coal used to power Fire Nation ships."

"That's gross," the little airbender said.

"You're right, but it signaled that the Fire Nation was coming. As children, we were taught that whenever we saw this snow we would have to run and hide. So, I went to find my mom. But when I ran to our house, a man was already in there."

"Grandpa?" the girl asked curiously.

"No, a Fire Nation soldier," Katara said solemnly.

"Oh."

"I was so scared, that I was petrified. My mother saw me and begged him to let me go. He reluctantly agreed, and she told me to find my dad. I ran, and ran, calling out for him, trying to find him. Eventually I did, but when we got back to the house the soldier was gone."

"Where was grandma?" the small girl asked, dreading what was coming next.

Katara took a deep breathe and bit her lip but continued, "She was dead," a tear fell from her eye.

"What?" Chyo whispered in disbelief.

"She was dead. The man killed her," her mother said painstakingly. All those horrible memories she had buried down resurfaced. That day, her father breaking down at the funeral, the image of her mother's charred body. She was reliving all of them. "That can't be true. There must have been a mistake. She can't be dead," Chyo tried to reason.

"I wish that it wasn't true every day. But sadly, things can't always go our way," Katara replied.

"How could they just do that? Didn't they know that she had a family? Why did they do this?" Chyo pleaded, desperate for answers.

"I've asked those questions many times, and I just don't know. The Fire Nation was ruthless back then," the waterbender explained to the best of her ability.

"If they did that then, they are still ruthless," the girl stated firmly.

"Sweetie, it's not …" Katara began.

"No! They are ruthless. I can't believe the Fire Nation did that. I hate them!" Chyo screamed, crying.

Chyo's sobs brought a flashback to Katara, and she realized that she had said the same thing 16 years ago.

* * *

_The moon shone brightly over the small South Pole village. Though the night was quite bright, the scene inside a particular hut was not at all. The now smaller family sat around a lone, flickering fire eating their dinner in silence. Katara leaned next to her grandmother, who was stroking her hair, wordlessly crying her heart out, because she was too depressed to eat. "Why Gran Gran why?" she whimpered._

_"Why what?" her grandmother gently asked, knowing that there were too many things her grandaughter would have questions about. _

"_Why did mom have to go? Why did she have to die?" Katara asked._

"_I don't really know sweetheart. Sometimes fate can't always be clear," Kanna explained._

"_Well I'm never going to forgive the Fire Nation. I can't believe that the Fire Nation did that. I hate them," declared Katara._

"_I know it feels like that right now. But when you're older, you might change that view. I can feel great things are going to come from you, my little waterbender," the elderly grandmother predicted._

"_I know I will," the little girl courageously said. "I'm going to make each and everyone pay."_

_Kanna sighed knowing that she could not change her grandaughter's mind. On the other hand, Katara just stared into the flickering fire, silently vowing that she would put them all out _

* * *

Katara realized something when looking back. She realized that if she wanted to keep the peace between the four nations, which she hard worked so hard for, she would need to start with her daughter.

Katara got down on her knees in front of her little girl's crying body. She immediately felt guilty telling her about Kya. What kind of mother makes her own kid cry? The waterbender would worry about that later. Right now, she needed make her daughter understand. "Chyo, can you look at me?"

Chyo wiped her latest tears and stood up to face her mother. "Oh honey, you don't really hate the Fire Nation, do you?" Katara brushed her daughter's frazzled hair behind her ears.

"Yes I do. They killed Grandma."

"Sweetheart, that was only one person. You can't possibly hate everyone-"

"No," Chyo cut in. "They all did this. I hate them!"

"Do you hate Uncle Zuko?"

"Well he doesn't count. He's nice," she retorted.

"But he's part of the Fire Nation, he even leads it," Katara countered.

"But-" Chyo started.

"Do you hate Aunt Mai or Cousin Lu Ten or Great Uncle Iroh?"

"No, I love them."

"See, you don't hate everyone in the Fire Nation. They have changed a lot since the war."

"I guess so," Chyo said slightly confused. "But how can I ever forgive the Fire Nation after all that they've done?"

"You don't have to forgive them, you just have to accept it.

"Why do you mean?"

"Even if you can't forgive these people who did these things to Grandma, you have to accept that these things happen. You can't blame on people who had nothing to do with it like Lu Ten, or Uncle Zuko," she carefully explained.

"Have you accepted it, mommy?"

This question surprised Katara. Had she really accepted that her mother's death had nothing to do with the current Fire Nation. "Not entirely," Katara paused. "But I try hard to accept it everyday. My heart just doesn't want to let it go. But Chyo, I don't want you to carry this bitterness for the Fire Nation for something that happened years before you were born."

"I understand mama. I'll try and not miss Grandma."

"No, sweetie, accepting something doesn't mean that you can't miss it. I miss your dad when he's at his meetings, but I understand he has to be there."

"So, it's ok if I miss Grandma?"

"Of course," Katara said. "I even miss her from time to time."

"Really?"

"Really. You know what makes me feel better when I'm feeling sad about her."

"What?" Chyo asked eagerly.

"I think of all the good times we had together. I can tell you about some of that if you want."

"I wanna know everything about Grandma!" exclaimed Chyo.

"The first thing I can tell you about her is that she would always wear this necklace when I was younger, even after Grandpa carved her a betrothal necklace," she said, taking out the blue necklace again.

"Why did she do that?"

"Whenever I asked her, she would say that her mother gave it to her and told her to keep it in a very special place. So, she wore above her heart."

"Wow," the girl said dazed.

"But one day, she just gave it to me," said Katara as if she was still surprised about it.

"Wait, if it was so special to her, how could she just give it away?" Chyo questioned.

"I'm not sure why she did it. She was spontaneous like that. My mother did tell we that she hoped I would save and treasure it and…"

"And what mommy?" exhorted Chyo.

"That I would give it to my own daughter when I grew up. Now, I think you are the perfect age to have this."

Chyo's face broke into a radiant smile, "You mean it mommy?"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't. Now turn around and lift your hair."  
Chyo obeyed and twirled around and lifted her ponytail of hair. Katara fastened the sapphire necklace around her daughter's tiny neck. The airbender turned around and said, "What do you think?"

"You're beautiful, darling."

"Thank you so much." Chyo hugged her own mother.

"You're welcome, honey. We should probably work on cleaning up lunch now."

"Let's go then." Chyo pulled her mother towards the mess.

"_Wow, Chyo excited for chores. I guess there's a first for everything,"_ Katara thought, allowing her daughter to drag her along.

* * *

It was pitch black when Aang finally made it home. It turned out that the issue about the decline of cabbage sales was much more complicated than he had expected. This one older man seemed quite passionate about it and would not let it go until it was resolved. Or until Toph earthbended his cabbages out of the room, and he ran after them crying, "My cabbages!"

Aang made sure he was quiet closing the front door, not wanting to wake his daughter. But she clearly was not in bed, when she bounded up to him and hugged his led, "Hi, daddy."

Aang clearly not expecting anything to attach to this leg and cried "aaahhhh" He looked down and just saw his daughter smiling up at him. "Oh…it's just you, Chyo. Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"No, mommy said I could stay up." Katara walked into the room.

"And may I ask your mommy why she let you do that?"

"Don't you remember? You promised Chyo that you would tell her a bedtime story," Katara replied.

"I did, didn't I? Well if you just go into your room, I'll be-" Aang started.

"Daddy, look what mommy gave me?" Chyo interrupted, showing off her new necklace.

Aang's eyes flickered in recognition. He looked up to Katara, and she gave a slight nod that it was indeed_ that_ necklace. "I remember when your mom would wear that. It looks very nice on you."

Chyo nodded, satisfied with her answer. "Now run off to your room and I'll be there in just a minute."

Chyo immediately took off. "It seems like you have a very attentive audience," Katara commented.

"I try my best," Aang shrugged. "You told her about Kya, didn't you?"

"I did, you aren't mad, are you?" Katara asked concerned.

"No, no, no," Aang reassured. "I just asked because I wanted to know how she reacted."

"She took it as well as any six year old would. She got angry at first, but then calmed down," Katara explained.

"And how are you?" Aang asked tentatively.

"I'm fine," she said quickly.

"You know I'm always here if you want to talk," Aang took Katara's hand and squeezed it.

"I know," she squeezed back.

"Well I'm off to tell the true story on how Sokka and Suki met and disillusion any that Sokka told her," said Aang.

"Good luck on that," Katara snorted.

"You know, I could always use some help from his sister."

"I think his brother in law will do a great job."

"Touchee," said the Avatar, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll be in there in a minute anyway."

Aang started to walk away, but turned back, "She would be proud of you."

"What?" Katara asked confused.

"You mother. She would be proud of how you are raising Chyo."

"Thanks, it means a lot to me," she replied.

Aang walked out and Katara stood all alone in the front room. "I love you mom," she whispered. She started to follow her daughter's melodic laugh and decided to join in the fun. She wouldn't dwell on the past anymore, only have the best days with her daughter.

* * *

**Well, thank you for reading my first fanfic. I would really like it if you reviewed. I want to know what you liked, what you didn't like, and what I could improve on. Or just leave a random comment. I plan to start my next story in an about a month when school ends because I need to focus on that. If you guys have any suggestions what to write I am open to them. Thanks again!**


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